More than a year after spring flooding severely damaged Churchill’s only land link to the outside world, the remote Manitoba town has confirmed that a deal has finally been made to purchase the troubled Hudson Bay Rail Line from its U.S. owners.
In a message posted to Facebook Friday, Churchill’s mayor and council announced the deal, which was reached by Churchill and a consortium of northern Manitoba communities along with Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited and Regina-based AGT Food and Ingredients, which is one of the world’s largest pulse processing companies.
“It would not have been possible without the strong support of the Government of Canada,” the Town of Churchill added.
The deal also includes the transfer of the Port of Churchill and the Churchill Marine Tank Farm. The Town of Churchill did not, however, immediately disclose the terms of purchase.
“Significant work lies ahead including immediately mobilizing for repairs to the rail line and to restore service,” the Town of Churchill’s statement said. “Today’s news will position our community and our region for a bright future and Canada’s only deep water Arctic Seaport can take its rightful place as a strategic national Arctic gateway.”
Located in northern Manitoba on the shores of Hudson Bay, Churchill is an isolated community of about 900 people that has long been a popular tourism destination for viewing polar bears, beluga whales and the northern lights. But when parts of its rail link to Winnipeg were destroyed by floodwaters last spring, tourist numbers fell while prices on everything from food to building supplies skyrocketed in the town, which currently can still only be reached by air and sea.
No timeline for track repairs, which are expected to cost tens of millions of dollars, have been given.
Omnitrax, the Denver based company that owned the heavily-damaged rail line, had repeatedly refused to conduct repairs necessary to get it running again, claiming the work would be too costly. In November, the federal government sued Omnitrax for failing to repair and maintain the rail line.
